There are many school-sponsored events and activities offered by groups such as SAC, but sometimes students decide to get creative and make their own activites. The Hospers escape room, created by Jacob Johnson, offers an exciting new activity on Northwestern’s campus.
In recent years, escape rooms have become popular across the country. In short, an escape room involves being “trapped” in a room (which can actually include more than just one room). Those inside must solve puzzles in order to escape. Typically, a group has 60 minutes to strategize how they are going to get out.
Escape rooms are a fun way to get out and interact with friends, which is much of the reason why sophomore Jacob Johnson has brought one to campus. Located in the basement of Hospers Hall, he put a lot of time in bringing this event to campus.
“All together there are at least 30 hours of work in it. Creating puzzles, codes, setting it up, finding locks, keys, suitcases and other props – it all takes a bit of time to create something with a lot of little intricate details.”
A few people have gone through in “test runs,” and Johnson loves to see their reactions to the second room.
“The storyline is about PGC’s first college experience – people have to use a series of clues, props and puzzles within the room to solve the game,” Johnson said.
One downside to this emerging new form of entertainment is the fact that unless the creator makes changes, participants can only go through once.
The groups who went through on the dry-runs gave Johnson feedback so that he may perfect the experience. Right now, Johnson does not plan on making any major changes, but the future may lead to a new creation.
Those who are enticed, intrigued, a bit confused or just plain curious about what this “escape room” is really all about, contact Jacob Johnson or wait for more information to show up around campus.
